Release date: August 14, 2019
Subgenre: Dystopian, humorous science fiction
About The Robin Hood of Couches:
Reese investigates corporate fraud and discovers some joker has been
giving away free couches to the needy, because when a person can no
longer afford the subscription service fees, all their furniture
disappears. The bearer of sofas ends up in a ditch when blunt force
trauma snuffs out the poor’s best chance of not living in an empty room
their whole life. Reese rolls up his sleeves. Time to get to work.
Excerpt:
The Academy never prepared Reese for the smell of a body. It was a
putrid, foul odor that was worse than the time he had found
week-old leftovers from a steakhouse underneath the seat of his
car. Since he hadn’t known what was inside the foil, he had
unwrapped it and puked. The body of the man today festered in a
drainage pool. The victim’s beard was matted and infested with
bugs. According to the display hovering in the air in front of him,
the DNA match was for Derrick Yusuf, a delivery handler for
MotoCom. According to his supervisors, the man took a week off
without giving a reason why before he died.
The local detective walked right into the display. Typically, it
was rude to step into other people’s screens, but Reese had set it
to private so no one could see what he was seeing. The cop poked at
Reese and said, “Do you need to puke?”
“No, I’m fine.” Reese’s stomach had come a long way since the
tinfoil surprise, but that didn’t stop the smell from making him
lose his appetite for the rest of the day. Which was unfortunate
because for lunch later on, his girlfriend treated him to this new
Russian place with the best perogies in the city, and he didn’t eat
a bite, claiming illness rather than recounting the memory of the
smell with her.
“I’m surprised. All you corporate types puke your first time on the
scene,” the detective said.
“Most of my colleagues are here to expose fraud and get big
paychecks when they find the CFO skimming off the top. I’m here to
find the truth,” Reese said.
“What? You didn’t get into Corporate Investigations for the
finder’s fees and the big payday? If you want to make a difference
in the world, you should come to collect the city paycheck with
us.”
“Then I wouldn’t have access to the best equipment, and I couldn’t
afford those subscriptions on a cop’s salary.”
“It’s the equipment, he says. Yeah, yeah, you’ll be driving your
Maserati at the track on weekends. We appreciate the funding CI
gives us but try to remember this is a crime scene. That body’s a
real person, and don’t touch anything.” The cop walked out of the
screen view, and Derrick’s information came back up. His crawler
was now downloading social media info. Mr. Yusuf apparently liked
to cure his own meats and made his own cheeses. It was an esoteric
hobby when everyone’s entire house was a giant 3D printer these
days.
Amazon
About Aaron Frale:
Aaron Frale writes Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy usually
with a comedic twist. Time Burrito is the audience favorite. He
also hosts the podcast Aaron’s Horror Show and screams and plays
guitar for the prog/metal band Spiral. He lives with his wife, his
son, and two cats in the hills of Oregon.
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